Six Medal Night for Team USA at World Youth Championships

7/11/2013

DONETSK, UKRAINE - Team USA won six medals and advanced many more athletes to the next round of competition during Thursday’s evening session to move atop the placing table at the IAAF World Youth Championships.

Team USA’s six medals are the most won by any country thus far in the championships. In the overall placing table, Team USA sits in first with 46 points, while Germany has 40 and China has 36. The U.S. is second only to China’s two medals for the number of golds won.

In the women’s 100m final, Ky Westbrook (Chandler, Ariz.) ran a lifetime best into a slight headwind (-0.8) to win her first international medal and Team USA’s first gold medal of the championships. Westbrook is the daughter of former NFL wide receiver Michael Westbrook who played for the Redskins and Bengals. Ariana Washington (Signal Hill, Calif.) out-leaned Angela Tenorio of Ecuador at the line to take the silver by one hundredth of a second in 11.40.

Dior Hall (Denver, Colo.) set a high school record in the 100m hurdle (76.2cm) finals to win silver in a personal best of 13.01. Hall also takes the family record as the national record that she improved was formerly held by her mother, Yolanda Johnson. Mikiah Brisco (Baton Rouge, La.) also ran to a personal best of 13.29 to grab the bronze medal for Team USA.

Isaiah Moore (Burlington, N.C.) leapt to a personal best of 7.53m/24-8.5 to win bronze in the men’s long jump. His best mark came on his second attempt where he equalled the second place mark of China’s Yaoquing Fang, but Fang’s next best jump gave him the silver. Moore improved his previous best by more than four inches.

Ashlie Blake (Las Vegas, Nev.) won the first U.S. medal of the championships as she lived-up to her third place seed in the meet and brought home bronze. Blake’s best throw came on her fourth attempt as she sent the shot flying 17.57m/57-7.75. In total, Blake had two throws beyond the 17-meter mark. Lena Giger (Highland, Ill.) added to the Team USA point total as she finished eighth with a best mark of 16.52m/54-2.5 also coming on her fourth attempt.

In the men’s octathlon, Gabe Moore (Freeport, Fla.) scored 6,013 points to finish sixth and earn three points for Team USA in the placing table. Jack Lint (Westerville, Ohio) ran the second fastest 1,000m of the day in 2:48.00 to improve his overall placing by four points to take 13th with 5,879 points. Earlier in the day Lint ran to a personal best in the 110m hurdles with the third fastest time of the day in 14.19. Moore also ran to a hurdle PR of 14.74. Both Team USA athletes performed well in the high jump as Lint cleared 1.93m/6-4 and Moore was close behind with the bar at 1.87m/6-1.5.

In qualifying action, Olivia Baker (South Orange, N.J.) secured her spot in the 400m final as she won her heat in 53.63. On the men’s side, Ryan Clark (College Park, Ga.) claimed his place in the final as he turned in the best youth time in the world this year in 46.33. Jordan Jimerson (Edison, N.J.) ran his second-fastest ever 400m in 47.97 to finish 7th in heat three.

Kenny Selmon (Mableton, Ga.) and Marlon Humphrey (Hoover, Ala.) advanced to the final of the men’s 400m hurdles. Selmon ran a time of 50.95 out of the first heat to clock the third fastest time of the day. In the third heat, Humphrey finished second in 50.96.

Twelve men hit the automatic qualifying mark of 2.09m/6-10.25 in the high jump qualifications to fill the final. Michael Monroe (Manhattan, Ill.) finished 9th in the B group with a clearance of 2.04m/6-8.25.

In the men’s 100m, Kenzo Cotton (La Vista, Neb.) was leading the field until he pulled up with 20 meters to go with an apparent hamstring strain. Cotton was able to run through the line in 12.35. Jaalen Jones (Maylene, Ala.) finished 5th in the first heat in a time of 10.67.

Competing in the IAAF’s youngest age group, the 16- and 17-year-old athletes were selected to represent Team USA after competing in the World Youth Track & Field Trials in Edwardsville, Ill., on June 25-26.

For complete results of the 2013 IAAF World Championships, visit www.IAAF.org. Competition resumes Friday at 9:30 a.m., local time.

Athlete Quotes

Ky Westbrook, women’s 100m, final
“It’s the most ready I’ve ever felt for a race before. It’s so amazing. After the race I started to feel tears bubbling up a little bit. I’m so happy, this is definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. It really hasn’t even sunk in. I’m so proud of Ariana [Washington], she did so good. She motivated me so much today and helped me to keep my cool, because I was kind of freaking out. It was really an honor to race with her.”

Ariana Washington, women’s 100m, final
“From day one before we even got on the plane, it was all about Ky and Ari going 1-2 in the 100. We really just focused on competing that no matter what we had to do. We knew what we had to work on, we talked about it, we prayed about it, and here’s the results. I feel like I just won an Olympic medal or something, this is great. It’s probably one of the best races I’ve ever run, against one of my greatest competitors. I’m really happy with the race and proud of Ky [Westbrook].”

Dior Hall, women’s 100m hurdles, final
“I’m happy. You know I wanted to win the gold medal for the U.S., but I’m proud of Yanique [Thompson], she did an amazing job. I’m just proud of myself because I came a long way and I PR’d like crazy this weekend. I just give all honor to God. It feels amazing to have two Americans on the podium, this has been our goal. It is a great feeling and I’m very happy for Mikiah too.”

Mikiah Brisco, women’s 100m hurdles, final
“I’m so excited. It is only by the glory of God that I did this. I just came in and wanted to do my best, and that is what I did. It is awesome for both of us to be on the podium. We’ve been working hard, and our hard work is paying off. I’m very proud. Words can’t describe how excited I am.”

Ashlie Blake, women’s shot put, final
“I felt pretty good. I came in ranked third, so I didn’t want anything less. Of course everyone hopes for more, but I congratulate the competitors ahead of me, and I’m glad that I got third. So, first medal, lots of points, that’s all I came here to do.”

Isaiah Moore, men’s long jump, final
“It’s great. This medal shows what I was able to achieve. I’m just at my peak and I feel great. I’m very proud that I was able to PR again. This is just a great feeling.”

Jack Lint, men’s octathlon
“Today started out pretty good with the hurdles, and I was really happy with my best time. The javelin is just an event I need to work on a little bit. In the 1,000, I felt pretty good, but my legs just wouldn’t take me any faster.”

Gabe Moore, men’s octathlon
“It feels awesome. Even though I didn’t get a PR or anything, I came here and got points for the team, so you can’t beat it. It is insane, it is the best feeling ever. I thought I would finish higher, but I can’t complain. I got points for the team and it was a great experience. We have the hardest event out here.”

Michael Moore, men’s high jump, qualification B
“It was amazing, this was a new experience. My biggest meet before this was state, so this was definitely a step up. I hope to make the junior team next year, that’s what I’m training for, and getting that 7-foot mark.”

Jordan Jimerson, men’s 400m, semi-final
“It feels great, that’s what I’ve been training for, it was my second-best time ever. Overall this has been amazing, it’s almost like being at the Olympics, so it is amazing.”

Ryan Clark, men’s 400m, semi-final
“I feel amazed, I really didn’t know I was going to run that time, but I did. The atmosphere is great, and I executed very well, with a strong finish and everything.”

Jaalen Jones, men’s 100m, semi-final
“It was a great experience to come out here and run with people from all these different countries. I’ll be back. It was a good race, though. I’m extremely excited to be at this level, words can’t explain it.”

Kenzo Cotton, men’s 100m, semi-final
“I’ll just try to help my team out in the relay. Hopefully I’m better by then. Representing the USA has been a dream of mine.”

Olivia Baker, women’s 400m, semi-final
“It went well. I executed the race the way I wanted to and I won. That was the goal. I wanted to win so I could get a good seed time and a good lane in the final, so I accomplished what i wanted to do.”

Kenny Selmon, men’s 400m, semi-final
“I know I have to change some things up for the final and make some adjustments on the hurdles. I know what I have to do. It is a good start. You have to go in confident to the final.”